Slashgeo

The Map Room links to the official Google blog which informs us Google just added traffic conditions in Google Maps for 30 U.S. cities. From the blog: "For more than 30 major U.S. cities, you can now see up-to-date traffic conditions to help you plan your schedule and route. If you're in San Francisco, New York , Chicago, Dallas, or any of the other cities we now include, just click on the traffic button to show current traffic speeds directly on the map. If your route shows red, you're looking at a stop-and-go commute; yellow, you could be a little late for dinner; green, you've got smooth sailing." All Points Blog discuss Google's source data.

The Vancouver Sun reports that "The British Columbia government has been meeting with representatives from Google Earth on an initiative whereby the government will supply updated information about the province for Google Earth and Google Maps, the online 3D-mapping system used by 250 million people worldwide."

As my colleague who attended GeoWeb summarized, "Google Earth is about to close a deal with BC, Canada for BC to provide them data for maps and location-based data like transit info. Their next phenomenon will be Google Earth Transit, with all possibilities for transit, including driving, bus, taxi, rail, etc, from one location to the other, for anywhere in the world."

The official Google LatLong blog informs us Google Transit is now out of beta and integrated to Google Maps. From the blog: "We're excited to say it's now a fully integrated feature in Google Maps. This means that when you look up directions for areas where we have transit coverage you'll now have the option of seeing how to get there using public transportation." See related stories below.

The Official Google LatLong blog informs us Switzerland transportation information has been added to Google Maps: "It also includes easy-to-use driving directions and trip-planning public transport information. We worked with Swiss content providers, ranging from Swiss doctors to the Public Transit Authority, to provide a comprehensive one-stop-shop of local information. The same information can also be accessed from Google Earth."

The Map Room has an article about this cool use of technology. From their summary : "Centred on Zürich, this site provides real-time positions of Swiss trains — the icons freaking move — based on their schedules. “The current view is based on the Swiss train timetable, and does not yet show the actual GPS-positions of the trains. But, as Swiss trains are almost always on time, most of the time the position is accurate.”"

Head on over to the Map Room to get the link to the cool live demonstration site and more information. Seems like a 1 up on the recent NYC transit site which was also announced last week.

Google Transit announced the participation of 21 new cities contributing transit data in Google Maps. From the post: "To help people to easily plan their trips, many transit agencies have turned to Google Maps to integrate their route, schedule and stop information." All in the U.S. but there's "Ottawa in Canada, Olsztyn in Poland, and Moscow in Russia". See also related stories below.